CPU/Mobo Did my research ... and now its upto you'll ...

[Paparazzi]

Hi all,

Did a lil bit of window shopping this evening bearing in mind the tips you'll had provided in the thread ... and this is what I came up with:

Mobo ... the only ones available in Kuwait (where I live) ... I mean besides the Intel DQ965GF were the MSI P965 Neo and the one from EliteGroup P965T-A + ICH8 having FSB1066, DDR2 800, 2PCIx16 slots and supports 64 bit. Which of these two are better? Assuming I want to do a lil overclocking .... just a lil, say about 2.8 as suggested earlier ... with just the stock fan, which would be better!

Now, having seen the Intel Mobo first, I presumed they had graphics inbuilt .. but no .. and hence, I'll have to get that as well. While looking at the graphics part of it, 3 of them within my reach were as follows:
1) EVGA 7300GT
2) XFX 7300GT
3) XFX 7300LE
4) Nvidia 6600
5) Not sure, but I think I saw one 7300GS aswell!

Now, of these, which one do I buy? On the XFX 7300LE, it was written 512MB supported. What does that mean? does it share memory? If yes, how much of its own does it have? Which of the above would be better ... I mean if the GT has 256 without sharing and the LE 512 with sharing, which then?

I plan to put just about 512 or 1GB max memory ... and oh! forgot to mention about the processors! Saw a E6400 for Rs.11350 and a E6600 for Rs.16150 ... any recommendations here? Personally, I'd like to save the extra cash, but then, what do you'll say?

By the way, as mentioned in my previous thread, the purposes I'd use the PC would be:

really do not do processor intensive things ... basically, my son uses it for his games (he is finishing his 7th now), daughter uses it for music, I use it for browsing, voice chatting with my brothers in India and well, occassionally editing a picture ... including making some panaromic pictures (I guess that last one is the only one that is really intensive). My PC normally runs 24hrs! At most, while we are moving around the house its kept on as the screen saver is our digital photos and hence we see it as we pass. If the PC is left on overnight it would be one of those rare days when we have to download something big (using a dial up), but thats about it!

. The games my son will use ... well, I don't think it would be the latest, but well, pretty new ... cracked ones I suppose which he'll get from friends!

One thing I forgot ... most cases available here have the power supply of only about 420 or so ... would that be enough?

Would really like help on all those as I'd if possible get to assemble it in about 10-14 days from tomorrow!

Thank a lot for all help you'll provided earlier and looking forward to more!

Cheers

 

[Alias]

Mobo ... the only ones available in Kuwait (where I live) ... I mean besides the Intel DQ965GF were the MSI P965 Neo and the one from EliteGroup P965T-A + ICH8 having FSB1066, DDR2 800, 2PCIx16 slots and supports 64 bit. Which of these two are better? Assuming I want to do a lil overclocking .... just a lil, say about 2.8 as suggested earlier ... with just the stock fan, which would be better!

If u have plans for crossfire i would say you to go ahead with the ECS P965T-A but Overclocking features are limited on it, so any plans with overclocking go right ahead with MSI P965P Neo.. Simple as that.

1) EVGA 7300GT
2) XFX 7300GT
3) XFX 7300LE
4) Nvidia 6600
5) Not sure, but I think I saw one 7300GS aswell!

Now, of these, which one do I buy?

Go ahead with the 7300GT as its the best of the lot here. If u can get a DDR3 7300GT then great as its as fast a 6600GT. Hmm, Evga or XFX? i would say to flip a coin between the two if u arent preferable to XFX..

On the XFX 7300LE, it was written 512MB supported. What does that mean? does it share memory? If yes, how much of its own does it have?

Yup, u got that correct. The 7300LE has some memory of its own but the 512MB its not on it but achieved by taking "shared" turbocache memory up to 512from your onboard system RAM.. Impressive on paper but real cheap.. Stay away from it and get hold of the 7300GT.

Saw a E6400 for Rs.11350 and a E6600 for Rs.16150 ... any recommendations here? Personally, I'd like to save the extra cash, but then, what do you'll say?

Go ahead with the E6600 if you can afford it as it has 2x2MB L2 cache on it compared to the 2x1 Mb on the E6400 so offers better performance for the same clocks (ie even if u overclock the E6400 to E6600 speeds..)

most cases available here have the power supply of only about 420 or so ... would that be enough?

With that config and a 7300GT , a 420W power supply is more then enough. But any crossfire plans or heavy graphics card plans later(including overclocking plans), then settle for at least a good 450W rated SMPS.

Have a happy purchase!

 

[Paparazzi]

With that config and a 7300GT , a 420W power supply is more then enough. But any crossfire plans or heavy graphics card plans later(including overclocking plans), then settle for at least a good 450W rated SMPS.

Have a happy purchase!

Thanks a lot Alias So pleased to receive that kind of help where each query was answered without too much complications!

A little thing I'd like to ask ... what is this "crossfire" you referred to twice in the reply? ... and, like I mentioned, I was thinking of taking the E6400 up a little to 2.5 or so ... maybe and the 7300GT will stay ... won't be changing that anytime soon. Would I then require the extra power? Can I presume for that moderate increase, power and the stock fan would suffice?

Thanks again!

PS. Now that I got the reply so fast, I guess I'll get my pc faster that the 2 weeks I expected!

PPS. If it were one of you'll which would you rather do... save a few bucks by getting the E6400 and use that money to get a 19" widescreen LCD or go for the E6600?

Cheers

 

[NinByChoice]

Crossfire is a technology that allows 2 similar ATI cards to run in a PC, delivering almost twice the performance of a single card. Go for the ECS mobo, its prolly cheaper than the MSI. With the stock cooler you will not be limited by the motherboard.

Get the E6400. The E6600 is not worth the widescreen. Decided on the display yet?

Raghu.

 

[Paparazzi]

Oh! ok! Thanks for that info too! Yeah, I guess I'll never get to that stage where I'd have to put in two of the Ati cards (graphics ain't it???)!

I found two different shops one selling the ECS and another the MSI ... both the shops were selling theirs for KD.35/- ... thats about Rs.5390/-.

As for the Display (different shops again), the Acer 17" Multimedia one is being sold for KD52/- (Rs.8000) while a Proview 19" widescreen is being sold for KD.70/- (Rs.10,770)

oh! just saw that the Proview monitor does not include the speakers ... wanted that reduce the clutter!